Tube and the like mill



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 10, 1939- J. E. KENNEDY TUBE AND THE LIKE MILLFiled Dec. 5, 1936 INVENTOR l E. Kenne@ 0. ATTORNE Oct. 10, 1939. J. E.KENNEDY TUBE AND THE LIKE MILL Filed Dec; 5, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2xNvENToR J. E. Kennedy BY ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 10, 1939 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE TUBE AND THE LIKE MILL Application December 5, 1936,Serial No. 114,319

2 Claims.

This invention relates to material reducing means, commonly termed tubeor ball mills, including a shell or drum rotatably supported by hollowtrunnions extended axially from the op- 5 posite ends of the drum and inwhich mills the material to be acted upon and reduced is fed into thedrum and the reduced material delivered from the drum through a drumtrunnion, the drum having .grinding means or elements 0 thereinoperative by the rotation of the drum to reduce material in the drum.Drums in mills of this character are usually rotated by a driving pinionrotatable on an axis extending parallelly of the axis of the drummeshing with an annular l5 gear mounted on and extending about the drum,or through Worm gearing applied to a supporting trunnion of the drum. Byeither of said means and method of rotating the drum lateral thrusts aretransmitted to the bearings and supports of Z0 the drum as well as tothe gearing of the driving means not only causing undue wearing of thebearings and supports as well as to the gearing, but such bearings andsupports and gearing are exposed with the result that dust and otherforeign substances accumulate thereon.

It is an object of the invention to overcome the above disadvantages inthe driving means for tube or ball mills by the provision of means toconnect the driving means to and transmit the driving force axially tothe drum and thus eliminate lateral thrusts on the bearings and supportsfor the drum and prevent transmitting torsional stresses to the drivingmeans by the rotation of the drum.

It is a further object of the invention to provide improved means forconnecting the driving means to a trunnion of the drum of a tube or ballmill through which the material to be acted upon is fed into the drumandvarrange the connecting means to receive and feed the material intoand through the drum trunnion into the drum by the rotation of saidmeans with the drum.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this applicationFigure 1 is a side elevation of a tube or ball mill with my improveddriving means and shown partly in section to show the means forconnecting the driving means to the drum trunnion.

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken substantially on the line 2 2 ofFigure l looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken substantially on the line 3-3 ofFigure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows to show the arrangementof (Cil. 83-9) the means to connect the driving means with the drum andto feed material into the drum trunnion.

In carrying out the invention there is provided a drum or'shell 4 ofcylindrical form having end closures 5, 6 fixed to the opposite endsarranged with hollow trunnions 1, 8 extended laterally therefromco-axially of the drum and adapted to engage and support the drum inbearings 9, I0 to have rotation on a horizontal axis. The trunnion 8 isshown as constituting the discharge trunnion through which the materialis delivered from the drum. The reduced or pulverized material isdelivered from the drum in suspension in an air stream in thearrangement shown by a fan, shown in a conventional manner at II, theintake of which fan is connected by a sleeve I2 in communication Withthe drum trunnion il, the fan being rotatable axially of the drum anddriven by an electric motor M.

Means are provided at the opposite trunnion 1 of the drum to connectdriving means to the drum axially thereof and transmit the `torsionalforces and stresses oi the driving means to the drum axially thereof andarranged to feed material therethrough into the drum, said meanscomprises a head fixed at one end to the end of the trunnion co-axiallyof the drum, said head being arranged with passages having inletopenings through and circumferentially spaced about the periphery of thehead and converging toward the axis of the head and diverging to andhaving outlets in the end of the head at which it is xed to the trunnionin com- .munication with the trunnion. The head comprises axially spacedwalls I3 and I4, the wall I3 being of annular form arranged with aperipheral portion to abut against the end of the trunnion and shown asextending substantially at a right angle to the axis of the head and xedto the trunnion, as by bolts extended through openings in saidperipheral portion of the wall and threaded into the trunnion, and theportion of the wall within said peripheral portion extended outwardlyinto the trunnion with the inner face, as |39*y inclining toward theaxis of the head and terminating in the opening in the annular head walland the opening in the trunnion. The other wall I4 of the head inclinesor converges toward the axis of the head at an angle substantiallyparallelly With the face I3au of the wall I3, the periphery of said wallI 4 being arranged within the periphery of the wall I3 with alternateportions opposed to the peripheral portion of the wall I3 cut away, asat I4, for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The wall I4 terminateswithin the trunnion in the plane of the outer face of the portion I3a ofthe wall I3. The walls I3 and I4 of the head are connected and the spacebetween the head walls arranged as passages by partitions or separatingwalls I6, which are in the nature of blades, shown as four in numberequidistantly spaced about and extending between the inner faces of thewalls I3, I4. The partitions or blades I6 commence at and extend fromthe periphery of the wall I4 with the outer end portion extendingsubstantially in a plane parallel with the axis of the head, as shown atI8 in Figure l, and extend for the entire length of the wall I4 with theinner end arranged to extend substantially at a right angle to the axisof the head and in the plane of the inner face of the outwardlyextending inner portion of the wall I3a within the drum trunnion.

'I'he partitions or blades I6 are of obtuse angle form in longitudinalsection with one angle Yportion extending outward from adjacent and oneside of the center of the head and the other angle portion constitutingthe portion I8 of the partitions or blades, extending to the outer orperipheral edge of the wall I4 and diverging or inclining forward of theinner angle portion in the direction of rotation of the head, as shownin Figure 3, and said partitions or blades in conjunction with the wallsI3, I4 forming scoops within the head.

The alternate peripheral cut away portions I4a of the wall I4 extendfrom the back of the partitions or blades I6 at the juncture of theangle portions thereof to adjacent the front face of the next adjacentblade or partition, as at 2D, and providing openings for the admissionof air to the head passages and to the drum through the drum trunnionfor a purpose hereinafter described.

Suitable means are provided to rotate the drum and shown as an electricmotor M with a speed reducing means combined therewith mounted with thedrive shaft thereof arranged axially of the drum. To operatively connectthe motor shaft with the drum one end of a shaft 22 is engaged in a hubI'I extending outwardly from the wall I4 of the head and secured thereinto operatively connect said head and shaft, as by a key 23. The shaft 22is connected to the motor shaft through a suitable flexible couplingshown as comprising a member 24 keyed to the shaft 22 and a member 25keyed to the motor shaft, and said members coupled together by flexiblefiat members 26 of spring material engaged in recesses in the opposedfaces of the coupling members 24, 25.

The head is arranged to rotate in and be enclosed by a casing or housing21 of U-shape in transverse section with the arcuate wall portionarranged below the axis of rotation of the head and extending through anarc of substantially degrees, with opposite side Wall portions 2'Ia ofthe casing or housing extending vertically upward from said arcuateportion and having an upper closure 2'Ib arranged with a hopper inlet atone side of the axis of rotation of the head with one wall 28 of saidhopper inlet declining in a direction toward the axis of the head andspaced from and intersecting the end of the opposite declining wall ofsaid hopper inlet, as clearly shown in Figure 3. The arcuate wallportion of the housing may be provided with a lining 29 of wearresisting material, one edge of the liner abutting the peripherallyextended portion of the wall I3 of the head and the opposite marginaledge portion flanged inwardly, as at 29', to extend adjacent the side atthe peripheral portion of the wall I4 of the head. The one end wall ofthe housing adjacent the head is provided with a circular opening, as at3D, with the Wall of said opening abutting the inner face of theperipheral portion of the headwall I3, as shown at I3c in Figure 1, andmeans are provided to produce a substantially air tight and dust proofseal therebetween.

The material is delivered by the head into the trunnion l of the drumand to facilitate the feeding of the material through the trunnion intothe drum or shell the trunnion is arranged as a screw conveyor byproviding a spiral rib on the interior of the trunnion. While thisspiral web may be arranged directly upon the interior of the trunnion,due to wear and the necessity of renewing the same it is preferably asshown, a sleeve 32, removably mounted in the drum trunnion, said sleevebeing of truncated conical form and mounted in the trunnion to inclineinto the trunnion. The sleeve is supported at the inner end by thetrunnion, as at 33, with the inner end abutting the end of an annularwall portion of a liner 5 for the closure end 5 of the drum, and theopposite end supported in an annular recess, as at 33', in the wall I3of the head and the end of the sleeve abutting said wall I3 and therebyretained in the trunnion against outward movement.

To deliver material to the head passages suitable material feeding meansis provided, and shown as of the disk type including a disk 34 supportedto rotate in a horizontal plane and rotated by a motor m, the disk beingsupported with a peripheral portion thereof overhangng the hopper inlet28. The disk 34 is rotatable in a substantially air tight housing 35communicating with the hopper inlet 28 to the enclosing housing for thehead I3, I4. The material is delivered centrally to the disk 34 from ahopper outlet from a bin 36 connected in communication with the housing,as at 31. The material is delivered from the disk into the hopper inlet28 by a scraper 38 extended radially inward from the periphery of thedisk and supported to have longitudinal adjustment by a screw 39 fromthe exterior of the housing for the feeder, a sight tube being providedto inspect the feeding of the material, as at 4U.

In operation, as the drum is rotated by the motor M through the feedhead I3, I4 connected to the drum trunnion 'I and during the rotation ofthe head with the drum, material is delivered into the space between thewalls I3 and I4 of the head into the scoops formed by the partitions orblades I6 when they are positioned to extend substantially in ahorizontal plane to the axis of rotation of the head, and as thematerial by the rotation of the head is lifted above the axis ofrotation of the head it is delivered into the trunnion sleeve 32 and bysaid sleeve conveyed into the drum. Any material delivered through thehopper inlet 28 that may spill from the blades or partitions I6 into thehousing lining 29 will be picked up by the blades I6 during the rotationof the head and delivered into the drum trunnion.

The pulverized material is delivered from the drum and conveyed insuspension in an air stream to a place remote from the mill, as to afurnace should the material consist of coal for combustion in thefurnace, or to a storage bin, by the operation of the fan I I, and toeffect a flow of air to and through the drum by the suction of the fanand regulate the degree of fineness of the material delivered from thedrum, air in r-egulated volume is admitted to the drum. This air may beadmitted to the drum at the temperature of the prevailing atmospherewhen the opening 32 to the housing is opened to the atmosphere, and theflow of the air admitted to the housing is regulated by the closure forsaid opening. Should the material to be reduced consist of coal or othermaterial having a considerable moisture content and to effect drying ofthe material as it is reduced or pulverized heated air is admitted tothe drum. For this purpose an air supply conduit 4I in communicationwith and leading from a suitable source of heated air supply isconnected in communication With the head-enclosing housing, means beingprovided to regulate the iiow of such air through said conduit to thehousing, and shown as a damper 42 in said conduit. The air admitted tothe head enclosing housing through either the conduit 4I or opening 32flows from the housing through the cut away portions of the head Wall I4to and through the head passages and drum trunnion into the drum.

While one embodiment of the means to connect driving means axially tothe drum of a tube or ball mill adapted to function as means to feedmaterial to be acted upon into the drum is shown, it Will be obviousthat various modifications may be made in the construction andarrangement of the parts Without departing from the scope of theinvention, and that portions of the invention may be used Without othersand come Within the scope of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a tube and the like mill, the combination with a drum havinghollow trunnions axially at the opposite ends to rotatably support thedrum and a fan connected in communication with the drum through one ofsaid trunnions operative to draw air into the drum and air withpulverulent material in suspension therein from the drum, of a head atthe end of and fixed to the opposite trunnion having passages openingthrough the periphery of the head and converging toward the axis of andopening through a side of the head to the trunnion to feed materialtherethrough into the drum, a peripheral portion of the outer Wall ofthe passages being arranged topermit admission of air to and through thehead passages tothe drum, a housing enclosing said head having an inletopening in the top for the delivery of material therethrough to the headpassages and an air inlet opening having a regulatable closure foradmitting air in regulated volume to said housing, means having asubstantially air tight connection With the material inlet opening tothe housing for delivering material through said inlet opening to thehead passages, and a shaft xed axially in and extending outwardly fromthe head through the housing and adapted for connection of driving meansthereto.

2. In a tube and the like mill, a drum having hollow trunnions axiallyat the opposite ends to rotatably support the drum, a head iixed to andabutting the end of a trunnion arranged with an integral hub axially atthe opposite end adapted for connection of a drive shaft thereto, saidhead being arranged with radial passages having inlets opening throughthe periphery of the head and diverging toward and opening through theend of the head abutting the trunnion and being adapted for feedingmaterial and admitting air therethrough into the drum, a substantiallyairtight housing enclosing the head and connection thereof with the drumtrunnion and through the Wall of Which housing a shaft xed in the headhub is adapted to extend, said housing having a material inlet above andat a side of the axis of the head and an air inlet opening having aregulatable closure to contro-1 the admission of air through saidopening to the housing, and means having a substantially air-tightconnection with the material inlet to the housing for deliveringmaterial through said inlet opening to the head passages, and the headhaving openings in communication with the housing and the head passagesfor the admission of air from the housing into the drum through the headscoops.

JOSEPH E. KENNEDY.

